Demountable partition system

ABSTRACT

A demountable partition system consists of metal shapes such as aluminum extrusions and wall board panels forming closed and open base rail height and cornice height and ceiling height partitions wherein the wall board panels are supported and retained by the metal shapes so as to be held in spaced relation with their edges enclosed in attractively configured trim. Certain of the metal shapes employed as trim incorporate glazing grooves simplifying glass installation and others include door stops forming door frames and the like.

United States Patent [1 1 Pritchard et al.

[451 July 17,1973

[ 4] DEMOUNTABLE PARTITION SYSTEM [75] Inventors: IIarry W. Pritchard,Youngstown,

Ohio; Myron Furman, Pittsford, N.Y. l

[73] Assignee: Superior Industries Inc., Youngstown, Ohio [22] Filed:Aug. 5, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 169,409

[52] US. Cl 52/239, 52/241, 52/481 [51] Int. Cl ..L E04b 2/74 [58] Fieldof Search 52/238, 239, 243,

7 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 12/1967 Dawdy et al 52/23810/1956 Johnson et al 52/481 X 3,008,550 11/1961 Miles et al. 52/241 X3,034,609 5/1962 Young 52/241 3,125,785 3/1964 Lonville 52/238 PrimaryExaminer-Price C Faw, Jr. Att0rney--Webster B. l-larpman [57] ABSTRACT Ademountable partition system consists of metal shapes such as aluminumextrusions and wall board like.

5 Claims, 15 Drawing Figures 3/ 928 32 27 l 25 F l W 3 l I". 3 r 25/ I 14 I I0 {9 4 m 1.. .1 l

PATENIED JUL 1 7191s SHEEI 2 0f 4 INVENTOR5 9914 100 Farm;

ATTORNEY 11/ r fmem FIG. 8

' PAIENIEUJUL 1 7mm s 6 g/ a 7 a j FIG. 9

FIG. I2

FIG. II

INVENTORS War/ M rflZ/am sF/f/y/wr Firm/2 ATTORNEY PATENIED JUL 1 7 Isuznuora FIG. 13

FIG. I5

ATTORNE DEMOUNTABLE PARTITION SYSTEM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1.Field of the Invention DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Byreferring to the drawings and FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and

This invention relates to partitions of the type nor- 5 7 it will b6Seen thal a demountablc Partition System mally employed to sub-dividerooms and other areas into partially enclosed or wholly enclosed areas.

2. Description of the Prior Art I Prior structures of this type usuallyemploy permacomprises outer and inner wall board panels and 1 l which asseen in FIG. 1 are supported and positioned above a floor F with theleft end of the partition of FIG.

1 supported on a wall W.

nent steel stud partitions with more or less conven- 10 tional windowframes and glazing units and door frames and door units. This inventioneliminates the specific window frame and framing devices and utilizesinterchangeable demountable metal shapes and inexpensive wall boardpanels.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A demountable partition system includes aplurality of interchangeable metal shapes such as aluminum extrusionsand wall board panelsto which glazing sections may be added. The metalshapes position and support the wall board panelsin on the floorrelation or off the floor relation together with a plurality of postswhich DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevation of a railheight open base partition with a glazing screen.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of a rail height open base partition.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross section on line 33 of FIG. 1 with partsbroken away.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross section on line 44 of FIG. 1 with partsbroken away.

FIG. 5 is a vertical section on line 5-5 of FIG. 1 with parts brokenaway.

FIG. 6 isa vertical cross-section on line 6-6 of FIG. 2 with partsbroken away.

FIG. 7 is a perspective elevation detailing the center floor post asseen in FIG. 1 of the drawings and with parts brokenaway.

FIG. 8 is a horizontal section 'of a comer construction of the partitionsystem.

FIG. 9 is a front elevation of a ceiling height partition. a

FIG. 10 is a horizontal cross-section on line 10-10 of FIG. 9 with partsbroken away.

FIG. 11 is a horizontal section on line 11-11 of FIG. 9 with partsbroken'away.

FIG. 12 is a horizontalsection on line 12-12 of FIG. 9 with parts brokenaway.

FIG. '13 is a vertical section on line 13-13 of FIG.

9 with parts broken away.

FIG. 14 is a vertical section on line 14-14 of FIG. 9 with parts brokenaway and FIG. 15 is a horizontal section on line 15 15 of FIG. 9 withparts broken away and in enlarged detail.

By referring to the left end of the partition of FIG. 1 as illustratedin FIG. 3, it will be seen that wooden strip 12 has been applied to thewall W above the outer and inner wall board panels 10 and 11 and that achannel shaped post 13 has been applied to the wall W in the areatherebelow and corresponding with the end portions of the wall boardpanels 10 and 11. Similar channel shaped posts 14 are positioned atintervals between the wall board panels 10 and 11 and some of these arereinforced by the application of a telescopically positioned secondarychannel shaped posts 15 between the wall board panels where post flooranchors 16 are necessary.

In FIG. 7 a detail of the post floor anchor 16 may be seen to include abase 17 which is fastened to the floor and it will be observed that theupper end of the post floor anchor 16 is of inverted U shape and of anoverall size fitting snugly within the lower end of the telescopicchannel shaped post formed of the channels 14 and l 5. Horizontallydisposed carrier channels 18 are fastened at their ends to the channelshaped post members 14 and 15 and space the wall board panels 10 and 11which are fastened thereto. Two part post covers 19 By referring now toFIG. 4 of the drawings it will be seen that the spaced wall board panels10 and 11 abut the flanges of the carrier channel 18 and the oppositesides of the channel shaped posts 13 and/or 14 and 15 respectively andthey are fastened thereto by conventional fasteners as will beunderstood by those skilled in the art.

Still referring to FIG. 4, it will be seen that batten retainers 21 areapplied to the outer surfaces of the wall board panels 10 and 11 as forexample adjacent the wall W and in covering relation to joints betweenadjacent wall board panels. Battens 22 are snapped over the battenretainers 21 and may include vinyl inserts 23 if desired and act asattractive trim for the wall board panels 10 and 11. Still referring toFIG. 4 of the drawings and to the right end thereof, it will be seenthat a flush rail shape 24 is applied to the end of the partition so asto form an attractive casing with respect thereto.

. The flush rail shape 24 is of channel shape and the flanges thereofoverly the ends of the wall board panels 10 and 11 and form anattractive casing therefor.

By referringto FIG. 3 of the drawings and the right glazing rail 27 Awhich is positioned over the wood strip 12 and against the wall W so asto form an attractive casing at the wall end of the partition.

It will be observed that the exterior configuration of the flush railshape 24 and the glazing rail 27 are similar so that the appearance ofthe upper longitudinal edge of the wall board panels and the verticalextensions thereabove which carry the glass parts of the partition areof uniformly attractiv appearance.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and of the drawings, a glazing post 28 ispositioned on a glazing rail 27 and extends vertically thereabove adistance slightly greater than that of the glass portions of thepartition which are indicated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 of the drawings bythe numeral 29. The upper end of the glazing post 28 is provided with acap 30 and similar caps 31 and 32 are applied to the upper ends of thevertical section of the glazing rail 27 and the flush rail shape 24heretofore referred to.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 5 of the drawings a base trim strip 33 is appliedalong the lower edges of the outer and inner wall board panels and 11and in FIG. 5 it will be seen that the base trim strip 33 is mounted insnap on engagement with a trim mounting strip 34.

By referring again to FIGS. 1 and 3 of the drawings, it will be observedthat the glass sections 29 are secured in position on the glazing rail27 and between the glazing post 28 and the glazing rail cover 25 byinterengaging vinyl splines 35 and 36 respectively which, engage thelongitudinal channels in the glazing rail 27, both the vertical channelsin the glazing post 28 as well as the vertical channel in the glazingrail cover 25 and the vertical channel in the glazing rail 27A. Thus,the glass sections of the partition are securely positioned in andattached to the remainder of the partition and in FIGS. 3 and 5 of thedrawings it will be seen that the glazing post 28 is secured to theglazing rail 27 by a glazing post anchor 37 which is fastened to theglazing rail 27 and which extends upwardly into the glazing post 28 tofrictionally engage the same.

It will thus be seen that an attractive, sturdy and easily assembledrail height open base glass topped partition has been disclosed whichmay be easily and quickly assembled and equaly, easily and quicklydisassembled for use in another location.

In FIGS. 2 and 6 of the drawings a modification of the partition justdescribed may be seen and which partition is the same as that justdescribed with the exception that it does not include the glassextension on the upper edge thereof. In FIGS. 2 and 6 the inner andouter wall board panels 10 and 11 are employed the free standing leftend of the partition comprises the same assembly as seen in the rightend of FIG. 4 of the drawings heretofore described, namely: the flooranchor 16, the post formed of the parts 14 and 15, the flush rail shape24 and a flushrail 38 which is similar to the glazing rail 27 except forthe longitudinal channel thereof and which is positioned on the upperhorizontal edges of the outer and inner. wall board panels 10 and 11 asbest seen in the cross-section of FIG. 6 of the drawings.

It will thus seen that the same components with one exception are usedto form the rail height open base partition of FIG. 2 of the drawingswherein the vertical glass extension portion is omitted.

Those skilled in the art will observe that the demountable partitionsystem disclosed herein may be used to form demountable partitions ofother heights and configurations than those heretofore described inconnection with FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings etc.

By referring to FIG. 9 of the drawings a ceiling height partition may beseen and it is hereinafter described. In FIG. 9 of the drawings theceiling height partition illustrated includes a fioor length window 40,several unbroken wall board panels 41, a door opening and door 42 and 43respectively and a conventional height window 44 in addition to severalwall board panels above and below the door and window openings.

It will be understood that the ceiling height partition illustrated inFIG. 9 may alternately be formed as cornice height and that when soformed the space between such a partition and a ceiling may be filledwith glass panels if desired.

In FIG. 10 of the drawings a horizontal section through the partition ofFIG. 9 may be seen and it will observed that the partition includes aplurality of channel shaped posts 45 which may be roll formed steelshapes, one of which, the one at the left of FIG. 10 is secured to awall W. Outer and inner wall board panels 41 and 47 are positionedvertically against the exterior surfaces of the posts 45 and securedthereto with their lower edges resting on an elongated member positionedon the floor and which member may comprise an inverted channel 48 (SeeFIG. 13) or a wooden member as desired. Batten strips 49 may be appliedby fasteners to the wall board panels 41 and 47 and the same secured tothe post 45 thereby or alternately batten strip retainers 50 may beapplied to also serve as fasteners and which retainers 50 receive andretain snap on battens 51. Both are illustrated in FIG. 10 of thedrawings.

The right end of the partition seen in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 is freestanding and is finished by the application of a flush rail shape 52 andby again referring to FIGS. 9 and 13 of the drawings, it will be seenthat a base trim 53 is secured to the lower edge of the partition as forexample by snap on engagement with trim engaging strips 54 which areattached to either the lower ends of the wall board panels and/or theinverted channel 48 or wooden member positioned therein.

By referring now to FIG. I l of the drawings a section through theflooor window 40 of the partition seen in FIG. 9 of the drawings may beseen and it will be observed that wood strip 55 has been attached to thewall W in the area of the window 40 and that a vertical section ofglazing rail 56 (like 27A in FIG. 3) has been positioned thereover andinterlocking resilient splines 57 and 58 positioned in channels thereinso as to receive the window 40. The right hand side of the window 40 isengaged in a similar construction including the splines 57, 58 and theglazing rail 27 which, in this instance, is positioned over the ends ofthe outer and inner wall board panels 41 and 47 respectively.

By referring to FIGS. 9, 11 and 13 it will be observed that the upperand lower edges of the window 40 are engaged in sections of the splines57 and 58 which are in turn positioned in horizontally disposed sectionsof glazing rail 56.

In FIGS. 9, l2 and 14 of the drawings a similar arrangement mounting thewindow 44 may be seen and it will be observed that vertical andhorizontal sections of the glazing rail 56, the glass receiving splines57 and 58 are arranged to hold the window 44 while at the same timeforming frames with respect to the lower and upper edges of the wallboard panels above and below the window 44 and the vertical edges of thewindow 44 at the sides thereof seen in horizontal cross section of FIG.12 and the vertical cross-section of FIG. 14. The uppermost edge of thepartition seen in front elevation in FIG. 9 and in vertical section inFIGS. 13 and 14 is finished with longitudinal sections of a ceiling trimchannel 59. An inverted channel 60 or wood strip may be applied to theceiling between the outer and inner wall board panels 41 and 47 ifdesired.

In FIGS. 9 and of the drawings a doorway 42 and a door 43 areillustrated and in FIG. 15 an enlarged cross-sectional detail of aportion of the door casing is illustrated and it will be observed thatthe ends of the wall board panels 41 and 47 are spaced by a two partpost 61 and secured thereto and the ends thereof and the post 61enclosed in a casing 62 which includes a door stop 63 against which thedoor 43 is engaged. The casing 62 has inturned flanges on its ends as at64 and the same are engaged in trim strips 65 which abut the surfaces ofthe wall board panels 41 and 47. Thoseskilled in the art will recognizethat it is sometimes desirable to form right angle comers in partitionsand by referring to FIG. 8 such a corner construction may be seenwherein the ends of wall board panels 66 and 67 respectively are joinedto the ends of right angularly disposed wall board panels 68 and 69respectively. A channel shaped post 70 is positioned between the ends ofthe panels 66 and 67 and a composite two part post 71 is positionedbetween the panels 68 and 69 so as to space the respective panels withrespect to one another. Modified U shaped clips 72 and 73 are positionedon the ends of the wall board panels 66 and 67 respectively and extendlongitudinally thereof with the clip 72 engaging the side of the wallboard panel 68 and the clip 73 forming the outer comer.

From the foregoing it will be seen that with the various parts inassembled position the demountable partition system creates a simpleefficient highly practical partition which may be varied with respect tofloor engagement or off the floor arrangement and which may be varied asto various heights and which may include glass extensions on the uppersurfaces if desired. It will be noted that relatively few metal shapessuch as aluminum extrusions are utilized for the various members holdingthe wall boards in spaced position and that the use of inexpensiveconventional wall board makes the overall cost of the demountablepartition system quite reasonable.

Fasteners are referred to in the foregoing specification and maycomprise blind rivets, metal screws or similar metal fastenerspositioned through the parts being joined to insure retention of theassembled shape of the partition. It will be noted in this connectionthat' each of the metal shapes are so designed as to engage the oppositesides of the wall boards and thus hold them in position against thechannel shaped posts which space them and thus a minimum of actualfasteners are necessary.

While only three variations of the demountable partition system areshown in the drawings and described it will beobvious to those skilledin the art that many variations in style with respect to height, floorclearance and corporation of windows, doors, solid panels, etc. may bereadily formed from the standard component parts.

The above described structure provides relatively easy and fast assemblyof the" partitions from the system parts and equally easy disassembly indemounting the partition as in removing the same so that it can beerected elsewhere. The structure is versatile in that it can be used inany situation wherein partitions are desired.

Although but three embodiments of the present invention have beenillustrated and described it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes and modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

I. A demountable wall partition comprising a base means, means securingthe base means to a floor, an upright, substantially U-shaped post flooranchor secured to said base means and extending vertically upwardlytherefrom, a vertical, elongated, hollow, tubular post meanstelescopically engaged at one end thereof on said upright post flooranchor, horizontally disposed partition carrier channels extendingbetween spaced apart, adjacent, hollow tubular post means and secured attheir ends to said hollow, tubular post means above said base means, apair of vertical, parallel, spaced apart, facing wall board panelshaving opposed facing surfaces, said wall board panels positioned onopposite sides of said post means and engaged therewith at their opposedfacing surfaces and maintained in said spaced apart relationship by saidpost means, lower edges of said wall board panels positioned andsupported on said carrier channels, and an inverted channel-shaped railengaged over the upper edges of said spaced wall board panels holdingthe same against said post means.

2. A demountable partition as set forth in claim I and wherein saidhollow, tubular post means includes a pair of channel shaped elongatedmembers nested with one another and each elongate member having a weband oppositely disposed inturned flanges thereon longitudinally of theedges thereof engaged with one another and with said post floor anchor,the webs of said nested elongate members in spaced, confrontingrelationship.

3. A demountable partition as set forth in claim 1 and wherein saidchannel shaped rail has an elongated groove therein, a glazing sectionand elongated splines therefor, said elongated splines and an edge ofsaid glazing section received and retained in said groove.

4. A demountable partition set forth in claim I and wherein the ends ofsaid carrier channels are detachably secured to said post means.

5. A demountable partition as set forth in claim I and wherein upright,U-shaped glazing post anchors are attached to said channel shaped railin spaced relation to one another, and a hollow tubular glazing post istelescopically engaged on each said glazing post anchor, glazingsections and splines on said glazing post, said glazing post havinglongitudinally extending grooves therein receiving and holding saidsplines and glazing sections.

1. A demountable wall partition comprising a base means, means securing the base means to a floor, an upright, substantially Ushaped post floor anchor secured to said base means and extending vertically upwardly therefrom, a vertical, elongated, hollow, tubular post means telescopically engaged at one end thereof on said upright post floor anchor, horizontally disposed partition carrier channels extending between spaced apart, adjacent, hollow tubular post means and secured at their ends to said hollow, tubular post means above said base means, a pair of vertical, parallel, spaced apart, facing wall board panels having opposed facing surfaces, said wall board panels positioned on opposite sides of said post means and engaged therewith at their opposed facing surfaces and maintained in said spaced apart relationship by said post means, lower edges of said wall board panels positioned and supported on said carrier channels, and an inverted channel-shaped rail engaged over the upper edges of said spaced wall board panels holding the same against said post means.
 2. A demountable partition as set forth in claim 1 and wherein said hollow, tubular post means includes a pair of channel shaped elongated members nested with one another and each elongate member having a web and oppositely disposed inturned flanges thereon longitudinally of the edges thereof engaged with one another and with said post floor anchor, the webs of said nested elongate members in spaced, confroNting relationship.
 3. A demountable partition as set forth in claim 1 and wherein said channel shaped rail has an elongated groove therein, a glazing section and elongated splines therefor, said elongated splines and an edge of said glazing section received and retained in said groove.
 4. A demountable partition set forth in claim 1 and wherein the ends of said carrier channels are detachably secured to said post means.
 5. A demountable partition as set forth in claim 1 and wherein upright, U-shaped glazing post anchors are attached to said channel shaped rail in spaced relation to one another, and a hollow tubular glazing post is telescopically engaged on each said glazing post anchor, glazing sections and splines on said glazing post, said glazing post having longitudinally extending grooves therein receiving and holding said splines and glazing sections. 